


Freedom of Consequence

by Tayani



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Boys In Love, Character Study, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 10:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20044507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Late one evening two boys sat by Leblanc's counter, talking. Well, Goro talked; Akira simply thought how in love he was with his voice.All our actions have consequences - sometimes taking the plunge and just doing what you want is well worth the risk.Or - a simple story of two boys in love.





	Freedom of Consequence

“Good work today.”

Goro smiled up at Akira from his spot by the counter. The barista responded in kind as he flipped the sign on the door to Leblanc to “ _ closed _ ” and returned behind the counter. He started on washing and wiping up the dishes, preparing for closing time. Goro rolled his shoulder blades – the closest movement to a stretch the perfect Detective Prince will ever afford in public – and cupped his third cup of coffee in his hands, smiling up at Akira again.

“What was I saying before we were so rudely interrupted by your last customer? Ah yes, Hegel…”

Akira didn’t say anything as, soon enough, Goro moved onto another one of his long, studious monologues. He’s learnt this long ago – a good barista knows what people need from him, and Akira soon found out Goro needed silence interrupted only by approving hums,  _ I see _ ’s and encouraging nods. Since the first time the detective stepped through Leblanc’s door, he became more than a customer – and Akira found that, though he could provide all the silence Goro could want, he also really enjoyed these late evenings spent on cleaning up Leblanc and listening to Goro – listening to his voice rather than anything he was really saying.

Goro had a beautiful voice. It was one of the first things Akira noticed about him, apart from how luminous his eyes were and how handsome he was overall. Yes, Goro’s voice was mesmerizing and Akira felt honoured he was one of the very few people Goro really let himself talk with. As long as the café was full, Goro would sit by the counter and read or chat politely about the weather and the news. By now, Akira knew he was only waiting; once there were only the two of them, the detective  _ really  _ allowed himself to let go.

At first, Akira strained to listen to every word he said, focusing on hidden meanings and complicated tangents – soon, he found out he didn’t need to. Somehow, though Goro could talk for hours, his monologues revolved around a thing Akira himself could usually summarise in about two sentences. It was simply that for Goro, talking was a way of stress relief and he found actual joy in taking a simple problem and prodding and wondering about it from every possible angle, often with long tangents on the topic of various philosophers’ view on the matter. And then, he’d look up and ask Akira for his opinion, and Akira would give it – even if he didn’t listen to the whole thing, he knew enough to reply – and Goro would get into yet another tangent taking apart Akira’s response and turning it around, like a curious child would do with a new, interesting toy.

Akira loved this about him, really. Goro could do to words and ideas what very, very skilled craftsmen could do to a beautiful clock. He took every theory that occurred to him apart, carefully separated each glittering bit, set it all out on the table and looked at every little piece from every angle possible before setting it all back together. Goro could make Akira feel like they were discovering the secrets of the universe in their little, quiet café after hours – even if the conversation started from something as simple as an interesting shape of a stain on Akira’s apron or the unique nature of each singular snow petal that fell behind the glass door of Leblanc.

In return, Akira offered his simple and hardly-thought-through responses and comments, and for some reason, Goro seemed to find each and every one of them completely fascinating. In the warm silence of Leblanc, Goro would laugh and hum and look at Akira with his eyes shining in the brief interludes of the raven talking. It felt as if he wanted to take  _ Akira  _ apart, too, just as he did his words. Akira found the idea quite captivating to think of, privately.

He found  _ Goro  _ to be quite captivating to think of. Everything about him – from the sound of his voice to the impossible little curve of his lips when he  _ almost  _ smiled at him – Akira had every single bit of Goro catalogued and filed away, and his whole collection of Goro’s expressions and mannerisms was  _ nothing  _ compared to the myriad of little things he still wanted to learn.

Akira finished washing the dishes and moved over to the counter, wiping it off. He allowed his eyes to linger on Goro’s angelic face, his sinful lips, the sweet little flush on his cheeks.

So many things he’d like to find out… like whether or not Goro’s hair really was as soft as it looked. Whether the shadow, just a little hint of freckles he could see over his nose and cheeks was an illusion or the result of some cleverly blended, natural makeup. He wanted to know what kind of sound Goro would make with his beautiful voice when the shell of his ear was kissed; wanted to see his eyelids flutter closed, his long lashes cast shadows over his cheeks.

He wanted to find out how did his lips taste against his own; he wanted to feel them part under his kiss and feel Goro’s fingers intertwine with his own.

Akira blinked, a deep, guilty blush staining his face when he realized he'd been staring – and what’s worse, that Goro wasn’t talking anymore, only looking at him with one eyebrow risen in amusement.

“Akira-kun?” Goro chuckled, shaking his head. “Did I lose you?”

“N-no… sorry, got lost in thought,” Akira mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. He heard another chuckle, and his eyes refocused on Goro’s lips. He was so close, so tempting…

“Oh, I’ve noticed that. I was asking… Akira-kun? I was asking whether you had your own opinion on the idea presented. Surely you must agree that, given the nature of the human mind in itself, such a question cannot simply be—”

Akira blinked, racking his brain. What were they talking about, to begin with? There was something about free will – how freedom was an illusion or stuff like that. Goro seemed to find the idea amusing; he was watching him again, a fond, exasperated smile on these sinful lips. Akira swallowed.

“Well?” Goro asked, his voice a purr. Akira nodded.

“I guess the whole freedom that and freedom this aside… People have free will. I mean, we can choose to do whatever we want, right?”

“Even if what we want is interfering in the freedom of another person? Note my previous adherence to—”

“Yeah, but you’re talking about humanity in general. Every singular person has freedom of choice, right? Whether it’s good or bad or hurtful for others, that’s… another thing.”

“I see…” Goro hummed, clearly intrigued by the line of thinking. “I disagree, however. Of course, theoretically… each singular person can do  _ what they want _ , so to say. However, each person is restricted – their  _ freedom _ , you see, is restricted – by, oh, all sorts of things… If right now you simply did the thing you want to do, without thinking of the consequences—”

Goro didn’t finish. He had a good reason to break his tangent off where he did – and that reason was the fact that Akira, unable to control himself any longer, leaned in and sealed his lips closed with his own.

Leblanc was silent. At first, none of them moved; the only sound Akira could hear was the thumping of blood in his ears. And then, Goro shifted, ever so slightly. Akira could feel his eyelashes tickle his cheeks as Goro’s eyes fluttered close; felt one hesitant hand cup his cheek and the other find and cover his own, their fingers intertwining. Felt, to his absolute delight, Goro’s lips moving against his own, parting, inviting him to play.

They didn’t move away until a long while later, both of them dazed and flushed from the kiss. Goro’s hands didn’t move; he held Akira close, as if afraid that if he let him lean back the raven would disappear. For the first time since they’ve met, Akira was glad to see it was the detective who was speechless.

“…yes?” Akira said, voice strangely low and husky. He could have sworn Goro shuddered slightly at the sound of it. “If I just did what I wanted right then… what was that bit afterwards…?”

“…if you did that…” Goro breathed and somehow, his voice was even more lovely than it usually was. “The consequences of such action… What if you came to regret it? And what if, in the end… you were to suffer punishment for simply doing what you wanted?”

“I’ve read somewhere you only regret what you didn’t do, never what you did,” Akira whispered, his own hand sneaking into Goro’s hair, petting it shakily. It was just as soft as he imagined it. “As for the second part… there’s also the freedom to suffer the consequences of your actions. And… I feel like this one was  _ really  _ worth the risk. For example, as a consequence of my action… I’d like to kiss you again, Goro.”

Akira had to give it to him – Goro  _ really  _ tried to stop himself from smiling at that. He almost succeeded.

“Well then,” Goro said, in a voice that would be lofty and vague if it wasn’t also breathless with anticipation. “I suppose you  _ are  _ free to, ah…  _ suffer _ the consequences, Akira-kun. We should, after all,  _ sample  _ the wonderful example you’ve given me, should we not? For…  _ research  _ purposes, of course.”

Goro’s smile widened; Akira could feel the tilt of his lips against his own.

“Say that again,” he said, with a playful nip of Goro’s lips that earned him a breathless gasp. “Just in a way that won’t force me to focus in order to understand.” 

“...very well,” Goro laughed after a moment’s silence. “I quite like the taste of freedom you’re giving me, Akira-kun. I’d like to have another bite.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like my stories, you can find me on twitter [@mikan_writings](https://twitter.com/mikan_writings) and/or tumblr at [mikan_writings](https://mikan-writings.tumblr.com/)!


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